THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 297 



actually reared up, and wasted enough energy in expos- 

 tulating against any such phrenological experiments be- 

 ing made upon him, to have won the heat, had it been 

 properly directed. He could not be induced to resume 

 operations until " Blan "' had passed the judges' stand, 

 and was pronounced winner of the heat. 



At the termination of this heat, the nature of the 

 betting was fully developed. The " Blan " party upon 

 claiming their stakes — Ej)amitiondas being distanced — 

 discovered that " Boots " stood between them and the 

 spoils. They had raised a feeble shout upon the issue 

 of the heat, futile enough ; for they assumed to consider 

 a triumph over " Boots " as a sorry affair, but when they 

 understood that the pony was entitled to start a fourth 

 time, even that faint ejaculation, melted down to a du- 

 bious mutter. 



The rules of the club re(|uircd a horse to win one of 

 the three first heats to enable him to keep upon the 

 track. Strange to say there was greater doubt concern- 

 ing this last mile than there was respecting " Boots " 

 being distanced the first heat. The judges had great 

 trouble in deciding the difliiculty. Three heats had been 

 run, and *' Boots " had won neither ; but then the first 

 was declared null and void, ergo, only two had been, in 

 law, accomplished. 



The Epaminondas party here stepped in, as much 

 for the principle, as the interest of the thing, and de- 

 clared that '' Boots '■ had a right to run a fourth heat. 

 13* 



